Five for... well, you know...

{one}

Since I've been on the Bountiful Baskets train, I've been trying really hard not to let produce go bad... so I was devastated when I found two bundles of celery that was like flubber in my fridge. ): But low and behold, did you know you can firm it back up?! Check it out! This is real life. I was so jazzed. I wonder if this works for any other veggies...?

Also, check out my haul this week below. Everything pictured for 15 smackeroos.

{two}

Week FIVE of school is in the books. WHAT?! I am 100% in LOVE my students. They are precious and I am already sad that they won't be mine for more than a year. I am still working on managing my time well and I spend the first three-ish weeks about to go nuts because I did not have a working computer monitor. That meant no BrainPop, no doc cam, no projector, no Go Noodle.... It was alllll song and dance for this tired teacher. I finally found relief and now we are technological wizards up in Room 16!

{three}

Speaking of technology: I have a couple sweet nuggets in my class that are still having a tough time with letter sound correspondence... I'm talking basic consonant sounds and short vowels... in second grade. While I am obsessively casually taking data (#formerspedteacher) and spending time wondering how they got this far without anyone else documenting their struggle, I have been using the Orton-Gillingham app with them while we are building our Daily 5 stamina. The app is FREE and I downloaded it after I attended the LETRS training this summer. I just kinda set them up and let them run it on Friday with very minimal instructions, and my heart was just singing as I walked past the sassiest of my two totally engrossed in the app and heard her proudly repeating each letter, sound, and key word. I think the best part of the app is the video option. After the students touch to hear the name of the letter, the sound, and the key word, they click "video" and it shows the mouth/face of a real person saying all of the things again. 

{four}

I am so darn close to getting Daily 5 up and running. My darlings can Read to Self and Read to Someone like champions. We still need to introduce Listen to Reading (my start up has been a little off of the sister's plan due to the technology snafus early on...). I have been doing some basic intervention and pulling kids here and there, but I am itching to really get my guided reading groups going! Any great suggestions for second grade higher level book study books? 

{five}

I mentioned that we adopted a little (OLD) monster, right? Well, we have been slowly working on getting him adjusted to normal living (aka, not being on da streets)... I left him in the house unsupervised for about 20 minutes yesterday and this is what I came home to:

I love bossy lady watching to make sure he doesn't get off his bed!

Currently: September 2014

Thanks for Farley for the ORIGINAL ;) and always fun link-up!

I am happily listening to my husband mow the lawn while I do "inside chores"... lol I am thankful that he is willing to be out in the sun. It is still triple digits most days here.

A couple weeks ago, B saw a dog almost get hit by a car out of our window. He went out to check its collar and return the poor guy to his home... and long story short, there was no room at the local rescue, so Walker ("Dubya") is now enjoying living the good life in the Bean house. The vet says that he is an older gentleman who is really malnourished (he gained 4lbs last week though- partay!) but otherwise in decent health for his age... and we just love him!

I adore my new class of sweet 2nd graders! SO sweet and very respectful for the most pat. They also love to learn. I had students asking me for homework on the first day... and then again on the weekend! They are a liiiiitle chatty, though, so I am looking for new ways to arrange their desks- any ideas? We're currently in groups of 4, but I'm open to just about anything!

I would love to have a personal chef. I am enjoying the effects of my healthy eating lifestyle (all of my teacher clothes fit again! hallelujah!), but sometimes it is really hard to come home after a long day at school and want to whip up a meal that is nutritious and delicious. Shockingly, those are hard to find in my neck of the woods. Especially on my budget...

After one of my sweeties told me last week that she didn't have a toothbrush at home because they had to wait for her mom to get paid again, I am thinking about this "needing" question in a whole nother light. I do not need anything. Not a darn thing.

Three trips I would seriously love to take are: (1) Machu Picchu (I've been dying to visit ever since I learned about it in my 8th grade Spanish class!) (2) Euro Trip (I've never been anywhere in that part of the world!) (3) American Landmarks (I lived in Australia when I was little, and you best believe I saw just about every historic and/or amazing national landmark they had... However, my American adventures are lacking! I'd love to visit the Grand Canyon, NYC, Mount Rushmore, D.C.... just to name a few!)